Neu!

Germany, 1971–1975

Rother and Dinger — inventors of the motorik beat: one drum pattern, straight down the autobahn forever. Three albums that quietly rewired rock's rhythm.

MusicRoots documents 1 artist who influenced Neu! and 7 artists Neu! influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Neu!?

• Kraftwerk — Rother and Dinger played in Kraftwerk itself in 1971 before splitting off to found Neu! — the most direct lineage in krautrock.

Which artists did Neu! influence?

• Harmonia — Rother carried the motorik pulse from Neu! into Harmonia — the other genetic half of the project.
• David Bowie — Bowie championed Neu! during the Berlin years — he publicly praised Rother and Dinger and invited Rother to the "Heroes" sessions.
• Stereolab — Neu!'s motorik pulse is the beating heart of Stereolab — Tim Gane calls early-1970s German music his favourite of all time.
• Simple Minds — Neu!'s motorik pulse drove Empires and Dance — the krautrock spine of early Simple Minds.
• Kasabian — Krautrock's motorik pulse — Neu! was in the band's shared record collection — underpins Kasabian's electronic rock.
• Foals — Krautrock's motorik repetition — Foals name Kraut-rock acts like Harmonia among their inspirations — underpins their hypnotic, looping guitar patterns.
• Wire — The motorik pulse Graham Lewis found at art college, running underneath the band's second and third albums.